Helping the Administrative Law Judge Understand Your Daily Activities
If you have filed for Social Security disability benefits and are appealing a denial, a Greenville disability attorney may be able to help you through the appeals process and prepare you for your hearing before the Administrative Law Judge.
The judge will likely ask you how you spend a typical day in order to evaluate whether it is consistent with your medical condition and its symptoms. If you claim to have severe pain in your legs but also say that you go out dancing frequently, the judge will be skeptical of your claim. When the judge asks you what you do during the day, it’s not a good idea to answer “Nothing.” Even if you just sit and watch TV or stare into space most of the time, that’s still something and will affect how the judge sees your case, so describe that to the judge. On the other hand, it is also a bad idea to answer “Usually I do some cooking, cleaning, laundry, and I go the grocery store.” This might portray you as being more capable than you really are. And, it leaves out the crucial details that you only clean for a few minutes at a time, can only cook simple meals, need help to do any laundry, and always take your son to the store to carry the groceries home. You might also have to rest in your recliner chair several times throughout the day to alleviate pain, which is useful information to the judge.
Ultimately, you want the judge to “live” your day with you hour by hour and see how your condition has impacted your day-to-day life. Talk about the things you have to do differently or can no longer do at all because of your condition, and the hardship this has placed on you. If it takes you significantly longer to do something than it previously did, or if you need to rest for a while after doing something, mention these facts to give the judge a sense of how things are more difficult for you now. If you need help from other people to do things you could previously do on your own, mention that as well.
If you are facing a Social Security disability hearing and are not already represented by a Greenville disability attorney, contact the Dennison Law Firm for a free evaluation of your claim.
